Monday, October 15, 2012

James Falzone - KLANG: Brooklyn Lines... Chicago Spaces

James Falzone is a clarinet player and composer, part of the fertile Chicago creative music scene. His group KLANG features Jason Adasiewicz on vibraphone, Jason Roebke on bass and cracklebox and Tim Daisy on drums. Falzone combines the Chicago spirit with the music and vibe he picked up in Brooklyn during a recent visit. The music is angular and bracing, reminding me of one of my favorite albums, Eric Dolphy’s Out to Lunch. The fresh and invigorating quality to the music comes from the sharp corners supplied by Adasiewicz and Daisy, that supply a percussive foundation for the bass and clarinet to bob and weave around in interesting ways. John Corbett’s liner notes reference the work of Ornette Coleman and pioneering clarinetist John Carter and their work in developing bebop and blues into something that extended beyond both of them. The music moves through diverse patterns, developing the abstract lean corners of “Brooklyn Lines” and “Ukranian Village” which meld sharp metallic vibes with strong percussion and bass. In response to this challenge, Falzone loops and weaves through the thickets of sound. The group stretches out dynamically on “Ground” developing a captivating performance as the energy waxes and wanes in a rewarding fashion. More melodic material dominates the latter half of the album, on the gently swinging “Carol’s Burgers” and the cerebral “Sciuridae.” KLANG: Brooklyn Lines . . . Chicago Spaces - amazon.com